I once remarked to my then-girlfriend about how artistic people could be hard work sometimes. ‘Yes, you certainly are!’ was her response. I hadn’t really thought of myself in those terms but then I felt good about it. I could now strike official Artistic Poses, and my various gripes (block, comparisons, criticisms, doubt, obsession, etc) would be justified because I was a Tormented Genius.

Sometimes, though, the “artist” business strikes me as odd because writing is almost inherently introverted. You can do it in company but it boils down to you spending a lot of time with a piece of paper or keyboard and your attention focused on the work. It’s the kind of art that someone shy and possibly without any previously detected artistic talent or temperament can aspire to.

But I’m not sure there is any such thing as a pure introvert. Sooner or later, you will need to get some motivation or perspective from another person to keep going. Not to mention that writing is also a craft, and has to be learnt. One of my lecturers defined a writer as someone who would write even if they knew for a fact nobody else would ever see it, but that would be unpleasant and inefficient at the least.

So here’s a rub: unless you are that rare person who writes entirely for your own enjoyment, then at some point, somebody else is going to have to read it. Or, you will have to read it to them. It may feel like you are exposing something deeply personal; if you have spent a long time with your work, you may even be a little jealous of sharing it. You will discover whether being heard is a want or a need, or both.

After which, some of the people exposed to your work may say something back. If you are lucky, it may be something you can use to improve, and you take it as such. If you are very lucky, you may be that even rarer person whose first work is an instant success. But that happens less often than you think; To Kill a Mockingbird is often called a brilliant first novel when in fact it was Harper Lee’s first published novel, there was at least one before that didn’t make it.

Of course taking a compliment can be pretty tough, sometimes even less comfortable than criticism. Yet you probably aspire to more of it.

(Just to prove a point… this blog post is better for exposure to the Next Page group (Jennifer C Wilson, Elaine Cusack, Sandy Chadwin) and the Elementary Writers group run by Victoria Watson, not to mention John Evans at the Phil.)

If you successfully tread the path to major author, you will be expected to do readings and signings with talks. Best get some practice in early. You don’t have to be Jackanory but competence and comfort will be necessary.

So… don’t let the road be too lonely. Sometimes you may walk together in companionable silence, sometimes pause to share provisions and compare blisters, perhaps even take time to plan your route with someone. Or just nod to a fellow traveller as you pass. It’ll be worth it.

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L.A. Craig perfomed at our second Pure Fiction event in Whitley Bay library last November. Here are her reflections on that experience…

The email from Elaine said, ‘Invitation to Read your Work’. My reaction? No way, Jose, not on your nelly, never in a million years.

Why?

Because I’m not a speaking out loud kind of person, and anyway I can’t even speak that loud, but mostly– who would want to listen? Sure, I’d had snippets published here and there, but in theory, I’d never actually gone public before. Not in the flesh.

Sleep on it, I thought. Come up with a fail-safe reason to turn this down in the nicest possible way.

I’m not the most eloquent bod off paper. It’s one of the reasons I write. So, for me, being asked to perform, even in a room no bigger than a kitchen-diner (well, maybe a bit), was on a par with standing naked in the Albert Hall with everybody pointing. Feel the fear (you know the rest), my partner said, but I was having none of it. Mind firmly made up, I went to bed.

Next day, I emailed my response.

If I was billed as the newbie, baby, novice writer… so as not to get anyone’s hopes up, then…maybe I’d do it.

Where did that come from?

Well – down in the deepest darkest corner of my subconscious, I knew I had no choice. If I wanted to be a big grown-up writer, I’d have to kick Nervous Nelly to the kerb.

In the weeks beforehand I practised my bestest reading out loud.

“Louder!” said Elaine.

I practised reading slowly.

“Slower!” Elaine said.

Font magnified to see-it-from-the-moon-size, tons of white space as a reminder to breathe – I placed my comfort blanket of words in a writery folder.

The actual day. Good God, people were turning up – mostly to hear Carol Clewlow, but the poor souls would be forced to listen to me first. Sorry folks. Let’s get this over with as quickly as possible (oh no you don’t, you’ll read slowly).

So, I read in my loudest, slowest voice. Yes, my kneecaps were anxious and all my saliva nipped off on a last-minute city break. At one point, there was even an out of body experience (this isn’t really you speaking, yes, it is, no it’s not), but…but…but – I got through it, and at the end, lovely audience members came up for a chat. I couldn’t believe they’d been listening. And some even had questions I could answer!

So, cheers Elaine, for the kick in the pants. And to any other writers out there in need of a swift boot up the backside (administered with patience and encouragement, of course) – Elaine Cusack’s your woman.

L.A. Craig (Lisa, when she’s not being all writery) is a writer based in Whitley Bay. She received a New Fiction Bursary from the Northern Writers’ Awards in 2014 for her children’s novel, Hosannas and Sleeping Bags, and her short story Flour Baby was broadcast on Radio 4 the following year.

Lisa is currently working on her second children’s novel and has recently been signed by Jane Willis at United Agents.

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How can you write without inspiration? You can’t! Why don’t you join us in Whitley Bay library this coming Saturday afternoon for Teenage Kicks, a creative writing workshop inspired by music?

We’ve all got our favourite songs, pieces of music which instantly transport us back to precious memories – first days of independence, first loves, first taste of the ‘real world’, or even the opposite, taking us back to more innocent times, when our biggest worry was whether our favourite group would have made it to Number One.

Teenage Kicks: Creative Writing Workshop takes place this coming Saturday, 4th March, at Whitley Bay Library and is run by Jennifer C Wilson and Elaine Cusack. Attendees are encouraged to ‘bring along’ favourite songs (mentally only, no CDs needed!), and see where they go when combined with Jennifer’s prompts.

Jennifer and Elaine will be sharing songs and pieces of music to conjure up new inspiration, and show how songs can inspire some fascinating moods, characters and plots.

We hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year, and, more importantly, that all those lovely, ambitious Resolutions are still going strong. If they involved ‘start writing’ or ‘write more’ then we are here for you, with our diaries already filling up with plenty of great opportunities to get the ink and inspiration flowing, or, if necessary, get you back on track whether you’ve been away for the Christmas fortnight, or half a lifetime.

One thing we’re really excited to be bringing you, starting on Saturday 21st January, is the North Tyneside Writers’ Circle. Whether you’ve been writing for decades, or want to make your first tentative steps in any form or genre, come along to this FREE event at North Shields Library. We’re seeing this as a great chance for like-minded, ‘writerly’ folk to get together, chat about news, what they’re writing (or want to), and, hopefully, learn something in the process.

Each month (on the third Saturday, dates announced three months in advance), we’ll be having a good chat about the Tyneside / north-east writing scene, we’ll have prompts and, on a regular basis, we’ll have somebody to give you a brief introduction into an aspect of the writing life. We’re delighted to announce the Sue Miller will be our first speaker, talking about her experience of self-publishing and selling her books through Amazon. Sue’s book (20/20 Vision: They didn’t see it coming) has garnered excellent reviews on Amazon, and has recently been featured in Hello! magazine.